Elders (Moderators) Libby Posted March 12, 2005 Elders (Moderators) Share Posted March 12, 2005 Wide Open [MLM-108 (4C08)] Written by Charles D. Holland Directed by James Charleston U.S. Air Date: January 03, 1997 [Transcribed by Maria Vitale Edited by Libby] SEATTLE, WASHINGTON [Day, outside, a light rain is falling. A number of kids are playing football in a quiet suburban neighborhood. There are no cars parked on either side of the street so the kids are free to play in the street. The homes all have finely-trimmed lawns.] [A car slowly moves along the street towards the kids. The windshield wipers are on because of the rain. The man inside, Cutter, watches the kids and proceeds slowly. They finally see him.] KID: (to the others) Get out of the way. There's a car. [The kids move off to either side to let the car pass. Cutter looks at the boys as he does, then he turns left at the next corner. He's driving a gray Ford, tag #: '776-GDN Washington'.] [This new street has some vehicles parked on it and on his left, a realtor 'FOR SALE' sign is on display on the lawn of one of the houses. There are green flags stuck into the lawn and an arrow banner declaring an 'OPEN HOUSE'. Cutter turns his head to look at the house.] [inside the house, the realtor, Beverly Bunn, is talking to a couple. One of them has a brochure in her hand.] BEVERLY: So, why don't you two take your time and walk around, see the house. [she hands the man her card.] BEVERLY: If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, okay? Thank you. [she spots Cutter who has entered the house and walks over to him.] BEVERLY: Hi, how are you, sir? Come on in. There's some information on the table over here about the property. And if I could just get you to sign in, that would be great. Thanks. CUTTER: Thank you. [The realtor returns to the couple and leads them into another room.] BEVERLY: Right on over to the right here is the kitchen. Why don't you take a look inside. [Cutter walks over to the table where there are a number of brochures and a guest book. The realtor can be heard talking in the background with the couple as he signs the book as: 'John Allworth.' The excerpt from the book reads: ] ABRAHAM LINCOLN CATHY MORTON JUSTIN McLEAN B Barsby John Allworth [Cutter walks through the house on his own. He goes into a child's bedroom. Stuffed toys, a picture of a clown and a large dollhouse can be seen. Beside the dollhouse are a large framed picture and a closet. He walks over to the closet. Hanging on the door is a measuring chart for the growth progress of a child. He opens the door.] [inside, we see a wardrobe, neatly arranged and various dolls and toys on the shelves.] [Cutter then has several brief visions. Sounds of screams throughout. He sees himself as a small child, hiding in an alcove, a large air vent with the panel removed, screaming.] [He looks at a stuffed brown bear on one of the shelves.] [Vision: He sees himself as a child again, still inside the air vent, screaming and looking up at a man standing before him; then some quick images of the panel.] [He looks at a Raggedy Ann doll on another shelf.] [Vision: He sees the child still screaming as the panel is replaced with the child still inside, sealing him in; the child looks up and sees the sides of the aluminum duct; then screaming again with the silhouette of the man behind him through the panel.] [He continues to stare at the closet when he hears the realtor comes up the stairs with the couple and come towards the bedroom. He turns.] BEVERLY: Well, as you can see, you really do have a lot of space to work with. Now, this is the second upstairs bedroom. This family has just the one little girl. Isn't it charming? [The bedroom closet door can be seen, closed but not quite shut. Cutter is hiding inside.] BEVERLY: Oh, you have to see the master bedroom. [They walk towards the other room, but she can still be heard in the background.] BEVERLY: The hardwood floors are all original [Later that night, the rain has stopped. The realtor's sign can be clearly seen now. It reads: ] FOR SALE EMERALD SHORE R E A L T Y For Information Call: BEVERLY BUNN 555-0153 [The realtor is speaking with the owners, Mary Kay and John Highsmith, about the day's turnout as their little girl, Patricia, runs through the house and starts running up the stairs.] BEVERLY: So, I think we have some real prospects. I had one couple that seemed very interested. MARY KAY: (to Patricia) No running on the stairs, honey. PATRICIA: Okay, Mama. [but she resumes running up the stairs.] BEVERLY: So, I wouldn't be surprised if we generate an offer. [John can be heard in the background as Patricia reaches her bedroom.] JOHN: Well, I think the price we're asking is reasonable. [she opens the door and enters the dark room, turns on a lamp, then walks to her closet, pulls open the door. A full-length mirror is attached to the inside of the closet door. The girl looks around, reaches for a large stuffed white bear on a shelf above her. She then shuts the door.] [Later that same night, the Highsmiths' security pad can be seen. It reads: 'READY - - - - -' and a green light can be seen as Joseph begins entering the code to arm the system: '1-5-9-9-5-5-6... '. His wife comes up behind him.] MARY KAY: You coming up? JOHN: Yeah, I'm just going to go over those figures again.' [she heads up the stairs as he finishes the sequence. The pad reads: '- - ARMED - - -' and the green light is replaced by a red one. The pad then reads: 'ALL SECURE'.] [upstairs, Mary Kay has put Patricia to bed, and sits on the bed saying good night to her. The white bear is near the bed.] MARY KAY: Good night, sweetheart. PATRICIA: Good night, Mommy. MARY KAY: I love you. Sleep well. [she kisses her daughter twice on the forehead.] [she then stands up, looking down at her daughter as she starts to fall asleep but we see Cutter standing behind her. He has come out from his hiding place in the closet.] [Downstairs, we see John with a calculator and various pieces of papers, working on some figures.] [Mary Kay's voice can be heard calling out from above.] MARY KAY: John! JOHN: Be right there. MARY KAY: (shouts) John! JOHN: Mary Kay? MARY KAY: (screams) JOHN!! [He runs up the stairs.] JOHN: Mary Kay? Mary Kay? [As he passes the security pad it still reads: '- - ARMED - - -' and 'ALL SECURE'.] [fade to black] [main titles] "His children are far from safety; They shall be crushed at the gate Without a rescuer." Job 5:4 [polaroid fade up] [The Highsmith residence, the following morning. Several police cars line the driveway, lights still flashing, as Frank pulls up to the curb in his red Jeep Cherokee. It is raining and thunder can be heard.] [Frank gets out of his car, pauses before the realtor's 'FOR SALE' sign, then walks around the yellow police tape and enters the house.] [inside, he puts on surgical booties over his shoes, buttons up his coat and enters the living room.] [A forensics tech is still checking for prints. On the carpeted floor of the living room, the Highsmiths' bodies have been covered with a white sheet. Two bloodstains can be seen. Behind them is the fireplace. The decorative screen has fallen over, presumably during the struggle the night before.] [Lt. Bletcher comes down the stairs, also wearing the booties over his shoes.] FRANK: Hi, Bob. BLETCHER: Did you see it on the news? FRANK: Yeah. Came down to see what I didn't see. BLETCHER: Young couple, bludgeoned, dragged downstairs, murdered with an antique hatchet. No sign of forced entry. Nothing broken. Nothing rifled or stolen, except... [Frank crouches down beside the bodies. Bletcher joins him.] BLETCHER: ...their little girl is missing. FRANK: What? BLETCHER: Yeah, that wasn't on the news either. [Giebelhouse has entered the room, in his hand is the bloodied hatchet, used in the murders, in a plastic evidence bag.] GIEBELHOUSE: Five thousand dollar alarm system. [He hands Frank the hatchet.] GIEBELHOUSE: Should have saved themselves the dough and gotten a rottweiler. [As Frank touches and looks at the hatchet, he has a vision. He sees the hatchet; a view looking out from the duct at a man standing with the vent's panel in his hands; blurred images of the struggle between John Highsmith and the killer; a terrified Highsmith on the living room floor; again the view from the duct and the man standing with the panel; close up of the attack on Highsmith, the killer touching his throat with a rubber-gloved hand; some obscured images; close up of Highsmith's head and face, less frightened now, more angry, blood visible on his neck as the killer holds Highsmith's chin turning it to one side, then his expression changes to fear and pain. Sounds of pleas and screams throughout. End of vision.] FRANK: What was the response time? BLETCHER: Well, the alarm company said they were here in a little over five minutes. We're checking that out. [bletcher stands. Frank hands the hatchet back to Giebelhouse. He stands as well.] FRANK: House was for sale. BLETCHER: Yeah, they had an Open House yesterday. We've got the real estate lady coming down. [Frank walks around the bodies, then pauses before speaking.] FRANK: The killing was premeditated. The killer most probably came to the Open House and hid someplace until the family returned. He would have set the alarm off when he left. BLETCHER: What about the little girl? [Frank shakes his head and sighs. He looks down at the bodies once more, then turns away. He sees something ahead of him and walks toward it. It is Patricia's stuffed white bear laying at the foot of the stairs. He picks it up and sits down on the steps.] [As he holds and looks at the bear, he hears someone whimpering near by. To his right stands a table against the wall. Behind it is a vent with a wooden panel.] [Frank puts down the bear, walks over to the table, pushes it aside, kneels down in front of the panel and looks through the slots. He turns around to Bletcher.] FRANK: I need a screwdriver, right now. BLETCHER: Yeah, here. [He reaches into his pocket and hands it to Frank who then unscrews the panel and removes it revealing Patricia Highsmith, who sits, holding onto her knees, whimpering, rocking back and forth and in extreme shock.] GIEBELHOUSE: Holy God. BLETCHER: Get the E.R.T. Get them in here, now! [Giebelhouse leaves as Frank tries to coax the girl out of the vent. As he reaches to touch her, she tries to move away from him, terrified.] FRANK: (softly) No, no, no. Nobody's going to hurt you, sweetheart. Come here. Let me help you. [she finally allows him to reach in and carry her out of the vent.] FRANK: Everything is going to be all right. [He places her on his lap as he sits on the floor, cradling her, trying to comfort her.] FRANK: Nobody's going to hurt you. We're here to help you. [He strokes her hair.] [Later, at a hospital, Bletcher stands by Patricia's bed as she sleeps. Frank is also present. Then Catherine arrives.] CATHERINE: How is she? FRANK: All indications is she's going to be fine. Her fluids were very low but there's no evidence of any physical harm - other than extreme shock. CATHERINE: It just... BLETCHER: Yeah, I know. [Patricia awakens and is frightened by Bletcher who is still standing close to her bed. She tries to move in her bed. Catherine tries to calm her.] CATHERINE: It's okay. Everything's okay, sweetheart. You're in a safe place. No one's going to hurt you here. [Patricia looks up at Bletcher who tries to give her a reassuring smile but she's still trembling.] CATHERINE: (to Bletcher and Frank) Can one of you get the nurse? FRANK: Yeah, sure. [He leaves. Catherine then takes Bletcher aside to speak with him.] CATHERINE: You can't expect too much, Bob. BLETCHER: What do you mean? CATHERINE: I know you're going to want to talk to her. I know you're going to want to know what she saw. BLETCHER: We have no other witnesses. CATHERINE: What's she been through - no one, child or adult, should have to experience. If she's asked to talk about it, it's like asking her to relive it. BLETCHER: I don't have to tell you that this guy is out there somewhere. He murdered these people in cold blood, Catherine. CATHERINE: You can't push her, Bob. She's got to do this in her own time, if at all. BLETCHER: We've already got a department shrink on call to work this. CATHERINE: I'm asking you, please don't let the department make a mistake trying to leapfrog this. It's already something that this little girl's going to have to live with for the rest of her life. [bletcher doesn't answer but looks over at the still quivering little girl.] [Day, it is raining. Outside, the Seattle Public Safety Building.] [inside, one of the conference rooms in the Seattle P.D. A detective (or Millennium Group member?) James Glen gives a rundown what they have on the guest book from the Open House. Present are several other detectives, including: Bletcher, Giebelhouse and Frank. A page from the guest book can be seen projected onto a screen. Some of the hand-written names are: ] R. Bell Fran Stall Rob Stall ABRAHAM LINCOLN CATHY MORTON JUSTIN McLEAN B Barsby John Allworth Jill Bridge ELVIS PRESLEY Sheila Soles MUHAMMED ALI GLEN: Abraham Lincoln, Elvis and Muhammed Ali, all signed the guest book at the Open House. In my professional opinion, none are viable suspects. BLETCHER: Think we'll put an A.P.B. on Elvis, just in case. FRANK: Did you find anything useful? GLEN: One name. It's interesting that it appeared two weeks earlier at the first Open House they held there. FRANK: He was casing. [There is a close up of the name 'John Allworth'.] GLEN: 'John Allworth.' The signature - centrifugal, vertical lines, forward expansion. The strokes - forceful, measured, alternating cursive and print. This man's signature's probably been the same since he was old enough to sign it. FRANK: What does that tell you? GLEN: That the signer is deliberate. He has focus, but that this is to contain his rage or his anger - that he can be explosive, prone to outbursts of violence. GIEBELHOUSE: No kidding. BLETCHER: Even if this is the guy, it's obviously an alias. The address he left has got to be a phony. GLEN: Higher probability, but not a certainty. FRANK: If he's not John Allworth maybe it's somebody he knows or somebody that knows him. The man we're looking for is a risk taker, but a deliberate man, as James said. He left the child alive for a reason. He signed his name 'John Allworth' for a reason. We'll catch him if we can find out what that reason is. BEACON HILL DISTRICT [Day, outside a rundown apartment building in a seedy part of Seattle. Garbage is strewn down by the external staircase. A police siren can be heard wailing off in the distance and some neighbors can be heard arguing in one of the apartments.] [inside, Giebelhouse knocks on the door of an apartment that was listed with the name 'John Allworth' in the Open House guest book: # 440.] GIEBELHOUSE: Mr. Allworth? [No response. He knocks again, then turns to a uniformed officer who is with him.] GIEBELHOUSE: Hey, see if the manager lives in the building. [The officer nods and leaves.] GIEBELHOUSE: Fat chance of that. [He then moves on to the next door, #444, and knocks on that. The door is opened by an elderly man, Mr. Marcelli.] MARCELLI: Yes, what? [Giebelhouse holds up his badge and identification.] GIEBELHOUSE: I'm Detective Giebelhouse, with the Seattle Police Department, sir. Are you the resident here? MARCELLI: Yes. GIEBELHOUSE: Do you know your next door neighbor, Mr. John Allworth? MARCELLI: Who? GIEBELHOUSE: John Allworth. He lives next door. MARCELLI: He does? GIEBELHOUSE: Do you know the guy that lives right over here? MARCELLI: No. So, what's the big deal? GIEBELHOUSE: We're trying to locate Mr. John Allworth - [POV shifts to that of a apartment across the hall. Cutter is watching Giebelhouse through a peephole as he speaks with Mr. Marcelli.] GIEBELHOUSE: - the man who lives next door. It's part of an investigation. MARCELLI: I don't know anything about that. [He shuts the door.] GIEBELHOUSE: Well, thanks. [He walks over and knocks on Cutter's door. A heartbeat and breathing can be heard. Receiving no response, Giebelhouse tries to peer into the peephole but does not see the bright blue eye staring right back at him. Giving up, Giebelhouse moves on to the next apartment as Cutter moves back and away from the peephole.] [fade to black] [polaroid fade up] [The same conference room at the Seattle P.D. A page from a different Open House guest book is projected onto a screen. It reads: 'ROCKY POINT REAL ESTATE' and has a list of names, addresses and signatures. This time only Bletcher, Giebelhouse and Frank are present.] GLEN: There were 4900 Open Houses in King County over the last six months. Graphological analysis matches the perpetrator's signature to at least 37 sign-in registers, using the name: John Allworth, Travis Bickle and Rudyard Holmbast. GIEBELHOUSE: Rudyard Holmbast? GLEN: That's correct. GIEBELHOUSE: So what? You want us to go out and knock on his door too? FRANK: There are over 30 houses he didn't choose for one reason or another. Find those reasons, find the pattern, and you move closer to the killer - to what is going on in his head. BLETCHER: Come on, Frank. I mean, what if it was just random? What if, uh, what if this guy just chose his victims because they were the most convenient? FRANK: Then that will tell us something about him too. BLETCHER: I think we're wasting our time with this approach, Frank. FRANK: You don't have much else to go on at this point. BLETCHER: We've got the little girl. [Frank stares at him but does not respond.] REYNOLDS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CHILDREN'S PSYCHIATRIC UNIT [Patricia and Catherine are drawing pictures with crayons. Patricia's are a mass of confusion, heavily scribbled and hidden images under layers of crayon strokes. A P.A. system page can be heard.] P.A.: Dr. Levinson, Metabolic Unit. Dr. Levinson, Metabolic Unit. [Catherine looks over to see what Patricia is drawing.] CATHERINE: That's very good, Patricia. [The girl doesn't respond.] CATHERINE: Is that a face in there? Kind of hid it in there, didn't you? That's very clever of you. [still no response.] CATHERINE: You want to see what I brought you? [Patricia looks up from her coloring as Catherine reaches into her briefcase and removes a pink bow clip.] CATHERINE: It's for your hair. It's from a girl who's almost the same age as you. Her name is Jordan and when I told her about you, she asked me if your hair was pretty and I told her it was long and straight and beautiful and she was so jealous because she has curly hair and she wants it to be straight. I bet you want curly hair, don't you? [Patricia offers a slight smile.] CATHERINE: Can I put this in your hair, Patricia? [The girl neither objects nor consents so Catherine puts it on her anyway.] CATHERINE: Oh, that's very pretty. PATRICIA: I want to go home. CATHERINE: I know you do. I'm sorry but you have to stay here. It's just because everybody wants you to be safe, okay? [No response again.] CATHERINE: I think we should do some more crayons. I'm going to draw a picture of a pretty little girl with a pink bow. What about you? [Patricia just stares at her.] [Day, outside the Highsmith residence.] [inside, Bletcher and Frank return to the crime scene.] BLETCHER: What are we going to find that an army of techs missed? FRANK: Maybe nothing. [Frank heads up the stairs. Bletcher tosses down the yellow police tape which had sealed the front entrance and follows him up the stairs.] [They enter the child's bedroom. The painting beside the dollhouse is askew. Bletcher looks at the dollhouse while Frank looks at the disheveled bed. The lamp on a nightstand has been knocked over. This triggers two quick visions for Frank.] [The first: several images of Patricia in bed screaming.] [The second: several images of the child screaming again, then partially obscured by a sheet as she struggles. He hears her scream throughout. End of visions.] [Frank then looks over at a dresser with a lamp, a small doll and a TV on top. The lamp has fallen on its side and there are several cable wires lying on the dresser top next to the TV. He walks over and rights the lamp. He then picks up the cable which is still attached to the TV. He holds it up for Bletcher to see.] FRANK: Looks like the killer could've taken something. BLETCHER: A VCR? FRANK: Could be. BLETCHER: That's cat burglar stuff, Frank. FRANK: Maybe not. [They walk out to the hallway. Bletcher checks a small door in one of the walls, opens it and peers inside before shutting it. Frank opens an armoire and finds a box which contained a new camcorder. The box is open. He hands it to Bletcher who looks inside.] BLETCHER: It's empty. FRANK: Yeah. [Cutter's apartment. Tens of thousands of newspapers lie in jumbled stacks throughout the apartment. Some rest against a wall, climbing to six foot or more. Others form a division along the center of the room, going up at least three feet high. Some others block off a door.] [The camera pans across and travels around the piles of newspaper to where Cutter sits watching a videotape he has made of the torture and murder of the Highsmiths. He sits before a huge radiator that is beneath two large windows.] [The audio of the tape can be heard throughout. Screams from Mary Kay and John Highsmith as they pleaded for their lives.] John: Please, let her go! Mary Kay: My baby! John: Please, let her go! Mary Kay: My baby! [Mary Kay screams.] John: Please! [Mary Kay screams again.] John: Please, let her go! Mary Kay: My baby! [she screams.] John: Please! [And screams again.] [Then the VCR display panel can be seen recording. Cutter has been making a copy of the videotape.] [The tape ends, Cutter rises to stop the VCR. He ejects the tape from the machine and removes the breakout tab to prevent accidental erasure of the tape. As he walks away, the TV can be seen, set to channel 3, snow filling the screen.] [Day, inside the Emerald Shore Realty office. There is an ad in the window with a picture of Seattle's Space Needle which reads: 'Killer Views - Killer Price$' A mailman brings the morning mail to Beverly Bunn. There is the chatter of other real estate agents talking on the phone in the background.] MAILMAN: Hi. How are you today? BEVERLY: Hey, How're you doing? I think I'm pretty good and getting better. MAILMAN: Can't beat that with a stick, huh? BEVERLY: (laughs) Thanks. You have a good day. MAILMAN: Thanks. See you tomorrow. [He leaves and she looks through her mail which includes several smaller envelopes and a yellow mailer. She opens the mailer first, removing a videotape from the envelope. She rises, walks over and inserts it into a VCR. Turns on the TV set, picks up the remote control, returns to her desk and sits down again. She presses the 'PLAY' button on the remote control.] [We see an upside down view of someone walking through the Highsmith house. Initially the tape is silent. Then the pleas and screams of the Highsmiths can be heard as well as the images of them in the living room, now right side up: Mary Kay lying on the floor with her arms bound behind her back; John sitting upright in a chair before the fireplace, hands and feet bound together by a rope.] John: We'll give you anything you want! [Mary Kay cries and mumbles her own pleas.] John: Oh, God, please, let her go! [seattle P.D. Giebelhouse, Bletcher and Frank are watching the tape which was sent to the realtor. The screams from Mary Kay continue. Then the Highsmiths can be seen again, now John has been thrown to the ground, leaning against a couch, yet still bound to the chair he is sitting in and Mary Kay is sitting up on the floor, her head turned, still crying, as Cutter steps before the camera with the hatchet in his right hand. The tape ends and the machine is shut off.] BLETCHER: (to Frank) Why send it to the realtor? FRANK: To terrify her, possibly. Or to punish her, as he punished the family, for some twisted, imaginary crime. BLETCHER: The clock is ticking, isn't it? FRANK: (nods) Yes. BLETCHER: Word's gonna get out. FRANK: That might be what he wants, Bletch. And whatever you can do not to give him what he wants, the better chance you have of drawing him into the open and catching him. BLETCHER: (nods) You and me, uh, we keep beating around the bush about this little girl. FRANK: Can't do it, Bob. [Frank shakes his head, knocks the table with his fist, then leaves the room.] [Day, another street in a suburban area. A man can be seen walking along a sidewalk covered with fallen dried leaves. It is Cutter. He pauses before a realtor's 'FOR SALE' sign on a lawn. It reads: ] LINDA LEE HILL PROPERTIES FOR SALE PAUL GRINNELL PH. (206) 555-0122 [Cutter turns his head to look at the house and rehearses his lines: ] CUTTER: Hi, there. How are you? [He continues repeating the lines as he begins walking towards the front door for the Open House.] [inside, he's approached by the realtor who speaks before Cutter has a chance to do so.] REALTOR: Hi, there. How are you? CUTTER: Fine. How are you? REALTOR: Good, good. Come on in. We have wine and cheese, if you'd like. Please feel free to look around. [He hands Cutter a brochure.] CUTTER: I was hoping you might, you know, give me the tour. REALTOR: Oh, certainly, oh, by all means. Why don't we start with the upstairs. CUTTER: Can I ask you first, this house has an alarm system, doesn't it? REALTOR: Oh, a very sophisticated system. The very best. You see that motion detector there? Those are installed in every room in the house. If you have valuable art work or anything you want to protect, the system uses a wireless link to a private home security company. [They stand before the detector located in the foyer of the house.] CUTTER: Can you demonstrate it for me. REALTOR: Sure. If I can remember how. [Cutter looks up at the detector, its blinking red light, and has a vision. He sees himself as a child again, screaming, mouth open, eyes wide with terror; the man's silhouette is before him, holding something in his hands, a large red 'X' and he seems to be wearing a cap on his head; the red 'X' becomes larger and zooms closer till it fills the screen; then there is an 'X' painted in blood on some ceramic floor tiles which also zooms in till it fills the screen and is bathed in a bright white light; Cutter, as a boy, can be seen screaming again, the man's hand reaching out to touch him; the red 'X' again with a white light on the left and a dark silhouette marking the man behind it; then the light is turned off, the outline of the 'X' and the man's silhouette remain; several images of Cutter, the boy, screaming, in bed or on a couch, bathed in a bright yellow light; a blurred image of the red 'X'; then another, this time the blood forming the 'X' is dripping, causing streaks; again it dissolves into the original red 'X' with the light and silhouette behind it and the light goes out again. The boy can be heard screaming throughout. End of vision.] [fade to black] [polaroid fade up] [Day, the same house, following the most recent murder. Bletcher and several other officers are on the scene. The house is dark as Bletcher shines his flashlight on the motion detector in the foyer, its red light still blinking. Frank enters the house. Radio chatter can be heard in the background.] BLETCHER: State of the art alarm system, the son of a bitch walked right past it. FRANK: How? BLETCHER: I don't know. It wasn't even set off this time. My guys tripped it when they got the 911 call. FRANK: You got a 911 call? BLETCHER: Yeah, report of a break-in. FRANK: You hear it? BLETCHER: No, not yet. Why? FRANK: Chances are, you got a recording of the killer's voice. [Frank walks out the front door and looks at the security keypad. Bletcher follows him.] FRANK: You might want to run this keypad for prints. BLETCHER: Yeah. Hold on a sec. You think he knew the alarm code? FRANK: Unless the system wasn't activated. BLETCHER: Woman died with the panic switch in her hand. He shot her point-blank with a 12-gauge, Frank. FRANK: Could have been staged, Bletch. Probably was. BLETCHER: So, he, uh, kills her, then he calls 911. Victim's divorced. There's no children living at home. We have a whole new pattern here, Frank. FRANK: (nods) Did you find the murder weapon? BLETCHER: No, not yet. FRANK: He takes chances but everything's considered, as if scripted, planned - what to leave, what to take, what he wants us to see, what he wants others to see. He's leaving a record of the events - videos, 911 calls, witnesses. [bletcher turns to examine the keypad with his flashlight and sighs as Frank stares down at the 'WELCOME' mat. He lifts it and finds a red 'X' that has been painted in blood on the ceramic floor tile, just as in Cutter's vision earlier. Bletcher looks from Frank down to the 'X.'] [Meanwhile, at the Children's Psychiatric Unit, Patricia continues drawing pictures with Catherine by her side. Another P.A. page can be heard.] P.A.: Dr. Ruben, Psychiatric Unit. Dr. Ruben, Psychiatric Unit. CATHERINE: What are you making there, Patricia? What is that? [The little girl doesn't answer but pushes the drawing before Catherine. She looks at them. Both are confused drawings with lots of scribbling but some figures can be clearly seen. In the first, a large red 'X' is buried in a mass of scribblings with the figure of a human lying on the ground and two other figures, one large and one small, standing off in the background. The second, shows the figure of a man with a large red 'X' across his chest and several smaller figures near the bottom of the drawing.] CATHERINE: I don't know what that is. Are these children here? [she points to the smaller figures in the second drawing. Patricia nods her head quickly with her eyes shut.] CATHERINE: Are they your friends? [The little girl again nods quickly.] CATHERINE: I'll bet your friends are going to be so happy when they see you. PATRICIA: I want my mommy and my daddy. [Catherine doesn't speak but just strokes the girl's hair.] [Later, at the Black residence, Frank is in his basement office, viewing a copy of Cutter's videotape on his computer. Mary Kay's screams and John's plead are repeated again as the tape ends. Frank removes his eyeglasses and sits back in his chair, exhausted. He rubs his eyes and face, shuts his eyes for a moment, placing his hands in a prayer position against his lips. He then opens his eyes again. He catches something that he's missed on previous viewings of the tape. He replaces his eyeglasses looks closely at the screen.] [He hits several keys on the keyboard to zoom in on a particular area of the screen - the portion at the very beginning which was shot upside down as Cutter walked through the house with the camcorder. Frank continues to zoom in until he sees an image, zooms in on it further, then inverts it so that it is right side up. There is an image of Cutter's face reflected in the glass panel of a door. Frank presses a button on his printer to get a hard copy of the image.] [His phone rings. He answers it.] FRANK: Hello. BLETCHER: Frank, it's Bob. Just got off the phone with one of our Bunco guys. That video camera that was stolen from the crime scene? [Perspective alternatives between the two throughout their conversation.] FRANK: Yeah. BLETCHER: Turned up in a pawn shop in Bellingham. I've got the owner downtown right now working with our identikit artist. FRANK: I may be able to help you out there, Bletch. BLETCHER: What do you mean? FRANK: I just pulled something off the videotape. The Millennium Group has someone that can probably clean it up for us. We may have a portrait. BLETCHER: A face? FRANK: Yeah. [Long pause.] BLETCHER: You still adamant about not showing anything to the little girl, Frank? [Frank pauses, does not respond and lowers the phone away from his mouth.] BLETCHER: Frank? FRANK: I'm considering it, Bob. [He hangs up the phone. The printer finally produces the image. Frank takes it and looks at both it and the image on his computer screen.] [upstairs, Catherine and Jordan have arrived home. Bennie rushes to greet Jordan as Frank enters the kitchen to do the same.] JORDAN: Hi, Ben! [she looks up and sees her father.] JORDAN: Daddy's home! FRANK: Hey, Pumpkin Pie. How are you? [He picks her up and holds her in his arms.] JORDAN: Good. FRANK: How was your day? JORDAN: Good. FRANK: Yeah? You want to tell me about it? JORDAN: Sure. FRANK: Hmmm... CATHERINE: First, we're going to go upstairs and take a bath and get those little piggies of hers all cleaned up. [she plays with Jordan's fingers.] FRANK: Little piggies. How'd those little piggies get so dirty? [Jordan presses her nose against her father's.] JORDAN: At school. [Frank and Catherine laugh as he puts Jordan back down on the floor.] FRANK: I'll be up in a little bit. JORDAN: Okay. [she runs off to go upstairs.] FRANK: Hi. CATHERINE: Hi. Got something to show you. [she reaches into her briefcase and removes some drawings, handing them to Frank, who pauses to kiss her on the cheek first before looking at them.] FRANK: Jordan's? CATHERINE: No, they're Patricia's. [There are several drawings. The first is of a large sad face. The second, of two smaller figures lying on the ground, the color red on their torsos, and of a larger man standing beside them with a large red 'X' across his chest. Both have dark scribbles surrounding the figures.] CATHERINE: I dropped Jordan at day-care and spent most of the morning with her. FRANK: Did you talk to her about these? CATHERINE: As much as I could. She started asking about her parents. I think they're significant though, Frank. FRANK: They are. We found that the man we're looking for left a red 'X' just like these at the second crime scene. CATHERINE: How would Patricia know? FRANK: I don't know. Maybe it was something he was wearing. (pauses) We've made some progress too. [He reaches for the laser printer image of Cutter that he'd brought with him from his office and shows it to Catherine.] FRANK: It's a picture to work with, an image to work from. CATHERINE: You want my permission. FRANK: I do. I don't think they're going to be as courteous. CATHERINE: (sighs) I can't stop them, Frank, but my feelings are the same. FRANK: What if you showed it to her? CATHERINE: What is she going to say? FRANK: Maybe she knows him. Maybe it's a neighbor. [He pauses, turns away from Catherine, looks at another of Patricia's drawings, that of the school children and the man with the large red 'X' across his chest.] FRANK: Someone the family comes into contact with. CATHERINE: I'll do it, Frank, if you think it's the only way. [Frank has a brief vision. He sees the same large red 'X' Cutter saw, dripping in blood; an extreme close up of the dripping blood; the other large red 'X' which Cutter saw in his own vision; then Patricia, huddled as Frank had found her in the air vent, zoom in on her as she watches the killer through the panel; Patricia's POV as the killer walks over to her with the panel in his hands, then as he replaces it, sealing her inside; then Cutter as a boy, screaming inside of another air vent, zoom in on him as he continues to scream in terror; then from his POV, as a previous killer sealed him in the vent with the panel; and finally a tight close up of Patricia's right eye and face. A child's scream is heard throughout. End of vision.] FRANK: No. [He pauses again, then turns back to face Catherine.] FRANK: That's what he wants. CATHERINE: What are you talking about? FRANK: That's what he's wanted all along - for us to use the child. [He walks over and picks up the phone, dials a number.] FRANK: (to Catherine) It's so clear from the clues - the video, the audiotape, bringing those to her would be an obvious tack. He wants her to relive it. Probably something that he's relived all his life. [He waits as the phone rings until Bletcher picks up. He's heard but not seen during the conversation.] BLETCHER: Bletcher. FRANK: Yeah, Bob, it's me. I want to talk to you. I want to talk to your men. I don't want anybody going down to see that little girl. Can I have your promise on that? BLETCHER: Why, Frank? She's the key. FRANK: Yeah, I know she's the key, just not the way we thought. [Day, another suburban neighborhood. A Seattle police car pulls up to an intersection where another police car is already parked across the street from a school. A crossing guard sits in a chair near the parked car. He is wearing a red reflector vest with a large yellow 'X' across the back. Children can be heard in the background. The officer from the first car is wearing rubber gloves and carefully removes a shotgun from a garbage can. The other officer joins him.] 2nd OFFICER: What have you got? 1st OFFICER: Shotgun dumped in the garbage. 12-gauge. Specks of blood on the stock and barrel. 2nd OFFICER: Who found it? [The officer turns to nod towards some children across the street by a STOP sign where another officer is interviewing them.] 1st OFFICER: A group of school kids over there. It was called in by that crossing guard. [He points to the man seated in the chair near the curb. The officer then walks over to interview the crossing guard.] 2nd OFFICER: Excuse me, sir. Can I speak with you? [The man stands, turns and we see that he is Cutter.] CUTTER: Yes, of course. Right after I help these kids to safety. [He walks out to the middle of the street holding a STOP sign for oncoming traffic as he waves the children across.] [Meanwhile, the police have identified the man in the photo, located his address and are breaking down the door to his apartment. A SWAT team enters first, checking each of the rooms, making their way through the piles of newspapers. They shout out orders and respond with what they've found.] 1st SWAT: Go! Go! Go! Go! 2nd SWAT: Check the other side! [bletcher and Giebelhouse are also present as they knock over some of the piles, kick down more doors and look through all of the rooms.] 3rd SWAT: Talk to me! 1st SWAT: Go! Go! Go! 3rd SWAT: Talk to me! 2nd SWAT: Place is deserted! 3rd SWAT: Call it out! Call it out! 2nd SWAT: Place is clear! BLETCHER: All right, let's get the tech guys in here. Turn this place inside out. [There are dozens of videotapes piled around the TV, even stacked on top of the set.] BLETCHER: (to Giebelhouse) I want all these video cassettes cataloged and packed off to my office A.S.A.P. [Later that night, outside the Public Safety Building.] [inside, Frank and Bletcher discuss Cutter. Giebelhouse is also present.] BLETCHER: You think he's long gone? FRANK: Not the city. He left us the shotgun to lead us to his apartment to prove we couldn't find him. BLETCHER: Damn. Two hours earlier, the officer that took his report would have seen his picture. FRANK: He's running now. BLETCHER: Where? FRANK: To gloat, to figure out his next move, to show us how clever he is. BLETCHER: I don't care how clever he is. We put his picture in the paper, this guy won't be able to cross the street without starting a parade. FRANK: You make him too famous and he's going to disappear on us altogether. GIEBELHOUSE: Then what? FRANK: You've got five days till Saturday. Five days to anticipate how he'll up the ante. BLETCHER: You think he's got the eggs to hit another family? FRANK: He's teaching us a lesson, about our pretensions to safety, about how vulnerable we are. GIEBELHOUSE: The guy's working as a crossing guard. For God's sake. FRANK: He wanted that little girl to relive his nightmares. How do you increase the stakes? BLETCHER: By making us all relive it. [Night, outside the Black residence. Frank sits alone on his front steps. A car passes then Catherine comes outside to join him.] CATHERINE: I couldn't find you. FRANK: Sorry, I needed some air. CATHERINE: Share some air with me? FRANK: (laughs) You're pretty cheeky, aren't you? CATHERINE: (smiles) That's me. (pause) You thinking? FRANK: Yeah, thinking about my parents, my grandparents - forty or fifty years ago - they never locked their doors, day or night. We seem to have accepted it so gracefully, so naturally - the security systems. We've allowed ourselves to become almost besieged by our own fear. CATHERINE: If you're not afraid, you're living in denial. The world's changed. FRANK: Yeah, I know. Can't turn it back. But we wonder... (sighs) Where are we headed from here? [Night, it is raining. Cutter is driving in his car along a street. He pulls over to the curb, rolls down his window and looks at a realtor sign. It reads: ] IVY MEADOWS Designer Family Homes Secure Comfort Life Styles [He then rolls up his window again and drives off.] [fade to black] [polaroid fade up] [Day. Opens on the emblem for a private security company which protects yet another suburban neighborhood. It reads: 'SCYLA - ARMED PATROLS SECURITY' with an eagle and two pistols completing the emblem. The car slowly drives down a street where some children are riding their bikes. A woman then walks past a house with blue flags stuck in its lawn. A couple can be seen entering the house. The realtor sign reads as follows: ] OPEN HOUSE Gemini Bros. REALTY New Listing FOR SALE LOU BOLLO 555-0177 [As the couple enters, they are met by a realtor who is just coming down the stairs.] REALTOR: Hi. Welcome to Ivy Meadows. Well, I'll give you one of our brochures and shall we start in the kitchen? Right this way. We have, um, state of the art equipment in here and... [Giebelhouse is present. He is pretending to be a visitor to the Open House but he has a radio link with Bletcher who is hiding with Frank and several other officers in a locked room within the house. He reports in on the two who have just started their tour of the house. Perspective alternates from Giebelhouse to the other room, whenever they are in radio contact.] GIEBELHOUSE: Nothing, boss. Just lookie-loos. BLETCHER: Yeah, make yourself at home, pal. I could be a long day. GIEBELHOUSE: Be real easy, let me tell ya. FRANK: (to Bletcher) Have any of the other houses checked in? BLETCHER: No. Either he got a whiff of us or he beat it out of town. (sighs) I really don't think this is going to happen, Frank. [Then the front door opens and Cutter enters the house. This time he is wearing eyeglasses as a disguise. Giebelhouse is in the other room but spots Cutter when he comes in. He keeps an eye on Cutter through his reflection in a mirror while he calls it in to Bletcher.] GIEBELHOUSE: Entryway, white male, tall, glasses. BLETCHER: Our guy? GIEBELHOUSE: I can't tell for sure. FRANK: (whispers to Bletcher) Give him lots of space. BLETCHER: Yeah, don't crowd him. GIEBELHOUSE: Yep. [The realtor leaves the other couple and walks over to greet Cutter.] REALTOR: Hello, sir. Welcome to Ivy Meadows. CUTTER: May I ask you a few questions? REALTOR: Certainly. CUTTER: Is this the model unit? REALTOR: Yes, it is, but the contractor and his family are living here currently. CUTTER: Oh, it hardly seems lived-in at all. GIEBELHOUSE: (to Bletcher) If it is him, he's heading right to you. [bletcher draws his weapon and Frank stands ready to unlock the door.] CUTTER: Is this how you get to the garage? REALTOR: Yes, uh, straight ahead. Just adjacent to the washroom there. [Giebelhouse follows them at a discrete distance. The two turn a corner and Cutter reaches for a doorknob, trying to open the locked door to the room where Bletcher, Frank and the others are hiding.] REALTOR: The owners locked their cat in. I don't have a key. I'm sorry. [Giebelhouse stops in his tracks, looks over to Cutter who clearly spots him. Giebelhouse moves off to another part of the house.] CUTTER: (smiles to the realtor) That's okay. I'd like to see the upstairs. REALTOR: Right this way. [she leads him up the stairs.] REALTOR: You'll love the upstairs. The master bedroom is just to die for. We've got twin sinks and a whirlpool bath, large walk-in closets in all the rooms and, and a gorgeous view... GIEBELHOUSE: (to Bletcher) Olly, olly, oxen, he's going upstairs. BLETCHER: Let's go. [bletcher, Frank, Giebelhouse and the other detectives, all quietly climb the stairs to try and surprise Cutter. When they get there however: ] GIEBELHOUSE: (to the realtor) Where's the guy that was with you? REALTOR: He's using the bathroom. [Giebelhouse checks out the master bathroom. It is empty. We can see an open window located over the bathtub, reflected in a large mirror over the twin sinks. Giebelhouse steps into the tub to look outside as Bletcher and Frank enter the bathroom.] BLETCHER: (to the other detectives) Check the bedrooms, all the closets. FRANK: He's gone. [Later that night, Bletcher and his men are still at the house. Bletcher is speaking to someone on a patrol car's radio.] BLETCHER: Yeah, we're about finished up here. MAN ON RADIO: Were you able to find a vehicle? BLETCHER: No, no, we didn't find a vehicle. He may have arrived on foot - same way he left. MAN ON RADIO: Roger that. Are we going to be able to reach you? BLETCHER: Yeah, I'll be on the radio if you need me. MAN ON RADIO: Good. Over. BLETCHER: Out. [He drops the mike inside the patrol car and walks over to where Frank is standing, checking his watch for the time.] BLETCHER: This guy booked it, Frank. FRANK: I don't think so. BLETCHER: We've been looking for five and a half hours, Frank. I'm telling ya, he's gone with the wind. FRANK: He's here, I just know it. Get the blue-and-whites out of here, clear everybody out. Then you and I go for a walk. [bletcher takes a radio out of his pocket.] BLETCHER: Giebelhouse? GIEBELHOUSE: Yeah? BLETCHER: Let everybody go home. GIEBELHOUSE: Okay. [bletcher turns and starts telling the officers around him to do the same.] BLETCHER: Okay, let's go. Come on, back to your cars. We're out of here. Wrap it up. Wrap it up, guys. [sometime later that night, after all the vehicles have left, Bletcher and Frank walk through the neighborhood alone, looking for any sign that is out of the ordinary with any of the houses.] [As Frank walks past one of the houses, we can see him through the window from inside the house, as though someone were watching him. As he continues to walk around the house, he hears a dog barking and moves closer to check it out. A german shepherd has been locked out of his house. He is up on his hind legs, whimpering and trying to get inside. Frank calls out quietly to Bletcher.] FRANK: Bletch. BLETCHER: What is it? FRANK: The dog. [it can be heard softly barking and still whimpering. When it sees Bletcher and Frank, it turns and barks more loudly at them. Bletcher nods to Frank, then walks over to the dog to try and distract it.] BLETCHER: Some candy, fella, huh? Want some candy? [Frank keeps an eye on Bletcher and the dog as he walks to the rear of the house. Bletcher digs into his pocket for some candy.] BLETCHER: Hey, hey, hey, hey. What's that all about? Hey, that's a boy. Hey, hey. Here you go, here you go. [Frank opens a gate and enters the patio.] BLETCHER: Okay. [He reaches for his gun and runs to the rear to catch up with Frank.] [Frank has found an open door and enters the house.] [bletcher walks through the gate, the dog running up behind him.] [Frank spots a security pad in the room. It reads: 'Door Ajar - Section Five.' He flips the panel open to look at it but the alarm has not been triggered, nor has it been set. Above the security pad, is a photo of the family, that lives in the house: husband, wife and their young son. This triggers another vision for him. He sees several blurred images; the couple asleep in their bed; Cutter as a boy again screaming in the air vent as the killer places the panel and seals him in; the couple awake, frightened, the wife screaming; several blurred images of the wife screaming. Sounds of their screams throughout. End of vision.] [bletcher finally reaches the wide open door and enters the house.] [Frank carefully climbs the stairs in the darkened house. When he reaches the third floor, he hears muffled whimpering come from one of the bedrooms. He cautiously advances, following the sounds, pushes open a door and finds the couple, bound and gagged, on top of a bed beneath a window.] [He enters the room, looks down at them, both are mumbling through their gags. He looks up at the window and sees Cutter's reflection in the glass. Cutter has a long section of pipe in his hands. Frank quickly turns around but is struck across the face with the pipe and falls to the floor. Frank tries to get up but Cutter takes another swing at him. Frank tries to cover himself and is struck again on the shoulder and a third time in the ribs.] [Then Cutter runs from the room without the pipe. The dog had been waiting in the darkness. It growls and goes after Cutter who has turned to face it. The dog climbs up on its hind legs again and pushes Cutter over a railing and down two flights to the ground floor below.] [Cutter screams as he falls, breaking through a glass table top before hitting the tile floor.] [bletcher, who had been searching the basement, runs up the stairs to the ground floor after hearing the noise.] BLETCHER: Frank! [Frank manages to stagger out to the railing where the dog had just pushed Cutter.] [The dog comes down to check on Cutter, sniffing him. He is still alive but bleeding badly.] BLETCHER: You okay, Frank? [Frank is badly out of breath and in pain.] FRANK: Yeah. [bletcher looks down at Cutter, blood coming from his head, cuts visible on his face, gasping.] BLETCHER: I guess, uh, one of us ought to call the paramedics. FRANK: Do you remember the number? [bletcher pauses and looks down at Cutter again.] BLETCHER: Not offhand. FRANK: I'll call. [The hospital. Frank sits alone waiting in the hallway, then Bletcher walks over to join him. A P.A. page can be heard.] P.A.: Pediatrics Nurse Turner, to 395. Pediatrics Nurse Turner, to 395. BLETCHER: Heard the little girl's going to a foster home. FRANK: Yeah. Catherine checked it out. She's keeping progress, making sure Patricia going to get the care she needs. [bletcher nods, sighs, then finally sits down beside Frank.] BLETCHER: Kids, they survive. FRANK: Yeah. With the monstrous exceptions. BLETCHER: Hmmm, that guy we caught, his parents shipped him out. Watched his aunt and uncle tortured by some farmhand. Tragedy begets itself. FRANK: Till the circle's broken. BLETCHER: Makes you wonder. FRANK: Killers aren't born, Bletch. [Then he sees Jordan and Patricia coming out of the unit, hand in hand. Patricia is carrying her stuffed white bear. Frank gets up and walks over to meet them as Jordan points to him.] JORDAN: There's my daddy. [Frank smiles at them and gets down on his knees in front of them.] FRANK: Couple of angels. Where's mommy, Jordan? JORDAN: She's still back over there. [she points behind them over to the unit where Patricia had been staying.] FRANK: Oh. [He stands up, then walks around the girls, standing behind them. He looks to Bletcher.] BLETCHER: It's okay. I'll put the kids in the car, Frank. FRANK: (whispers to the girls) Go ahead. [He gently pushes them towards Bletcher, who then takes them by the hand.] BLETCHER: Ladies? [They begin walking down the corridor.] BLETCHER: (to Patricia) That's a nice teddy bear. PATRICIA: Thanks. [Frank walks back to the unit to look for Catherine. He finds her alone in a room, crying. A hospital ID at the foot of the bed reads: 'Patricia HIGHSMITH ID# 29712.' Frank stands by the doorway until Catherine notices his presence and turns. Then he enters, holds her hand and embraces her. They leave the room with their arms around each other's waists.] [several of Patricia's drawings have been taped on the glass of the room. They all are of the horrors she has witnessed of her parents' murders.] [fade to black] [end titles] Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black) and Bill Smitrovich (Lt. Bob Bletcher) Guest Starring Glynn Turman (James Glen) Stephen James Lang (Det. Bob Giebelhouse) Pablo Coffey (Cutter) Co-Starring Nevada Ash (Patricia Highsmith) Eileen Kenney (Beverly Bunn) Sandra Ferens (Mary Kay Highsmith) David Neale (John [Joseph] Highsmith) Roger R. Cross (Officer Shaw) [Carter Kagume] (ICU Nurse) [Ernie Prentice] (Mr. Marcelli) [Colin McCarlie] (Harry Marlowe) [Mandy McKeen] (Jane Marlowe) [Cindy Lee] (Riley Farnsworth) [ian Carson-Huggins] (Young Boy Cutter) Story Editor: Charles Holland Music by Mark Snow Editor: Chris Willingham A.C.E. Production Designer: Sheila Haley Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece Consulting Producer: Ted Mann Consulting Producers: James Wong & Glen Morgan Co-Producer: Ken Dennis Co-Producer: Chip Johannessen Co-Producer: Frank Spotnitz Co-Executive Producer: Jorge Zamacona Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis Written by Charles D. Holland Directed by James Charleston Executive Producer: Chris Carter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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